We are water, We are earth, We are sky
East Bay Photo Collective’s 2023 Member’s Exhibition
We are water, We are earth, We are sky is an exhibition about how we live entwined with natural systems. We do not co-exist with nature - we exist within it. In our increasingly digitized lives it can be easy to forget that we remain physical animals, tied to a physical body that is made up of natural elements. We are still 70% water, we are still what we eat, we still breathe the air. We are inherently one with our ecosystems. When our ecosystems are healthy, so are we. When we pump toxins into the air and water, we pump toxins into ourselves.
This exhibition, curated by EBPCO member and volunteer, Amanda Bensel, features the work of 35 East Bay Photo Collective members. The exhibition is available to view here and at Oakland Photo Workshop.
Untitled by Alex Wu
Observing Lichen by Katie Donaldson
Euphoria by Katherine Briccetti
Flora of an American Cityscape by Jamie Pillers
The Land Trust by Eric Nomburg
Bunny's Last Summer by Eric Weiss
Baptism by Eric Wise
Into the Wave by Fairlight de Michele
Marea baja (Tow Tide) by Hannah Rohret
Strawberry Fields Forever by Ngân Vũ
Hair by Heather Slingerland
Extended Bodies Diptych by Kat Dimitruk
usa275_12 by Chris Gibbons
Undergrowth by Hernando Conwi
Drops by Don Albonico
Making It Yours by Sonia Melnikova-Raich
Niagra Falls (Maid of the Mist) by Martin Juvosky
Missing People by Juliayn Coleman
Reggie by Eric Nomburg
Where is the Nature of Your Mind? By Marvin Moser
Aquarium Visit by DeAnna Tibbs
Untitled. June, 2020 by Johnny Nues
Elevation by Daniel Danzig
Flight Pattern by Heather McAlister
Tobacco Farmer by Hannah Rohret
Magic Moment by Ingrid Becker
Three Fennel, Bay Trail by Beatrice Thornton
Self-Portrait with Snow and Trees
Word of Mouth - The Air We Breathe by Sherry Karver
Reach by Beth Zuckerman
Black Nymph by Brittany Maxste
Realization by Daniel Danzig
Mermaid by Katherine Briccetti
Before you knew where to look by J.M. Golding
Swing by Neil Geller
Little Boxes by Heather McAlister
After the Fire by Philip Krayna
Reflecting by Kate Freeman
@ the Ritz by Kim Puliafico
A Man Made Forest Winter and Summer by James Manion
Oak Lives by Amanda Bensel
Meet the Artists
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Alex Wu
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Amanda Bensel
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Beatrice Thornton
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Beth Zuckerman
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Brittany Maxste
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Chris Gibbons
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Daniel Danzig
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DeAnna Tibbs
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Don Albonico
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Eric Nomburg
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Eric Weiss
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Fairlight De Michele
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Hannah Rohret
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Heather McAlister
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Heather Slingerland
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Hernando Conwi
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Ingrid Becker
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J.M. Golding
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James Manion
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Jamie Pillers
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Johnny Nunes
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Juliayn Coleman
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Kat Dimitruk
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Kate Freeman
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Katherine Briccetti
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Katie Goode Donaldson
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Kim Puliafico
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Martin Jukovsky
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Marvin Moser
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Neil Geller
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Ngân Vu
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Philip Krayna
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Sherry Karver
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Sonia Melnikova-Raich
About the Jury
Amanda is an international development professional, documentary photographer and filmmaker whose work supports leadership development, climate action, women’s rights and social enterprise across Asia. She believes strongly that effective change starts with listening.
Amanda is the guest curator for the 2023 Member’s Exhibition and has volunteered as a gallery sitter at Oakland Photo Workshop since it opened in 2021.
Anita has had a passion for cinema and photography her entire life, and has been involved with the Bay Area photo community for over two decades, through her work at Berkeley's Looking Glass Photo, and her association with various characters in the local photography scene. Anita co-founded the East Bay Photo Collective with Vince Donovan in 2017 and has been delighted to help nurture its growth over the years. In addition to board and committee duties she hosts EBPCO’s monthly photo walks and oversees EBPCO’s social media presence.
Jenny Sampson is a Berkeley-based photographer. Her focus is wet plate collodion and traditional black and white photography. Her work has exhibited in the United States, United Kingdom and has been published in Zyzzyva, Analog Forever Magazine, BBC, GirlTalkHQ, The Hand, SHOTS Magazine, All About Photography Magazine, Lenscratch, The Guardian, The Eye of Photography, PDN and Visual Communications Quarterly. Sampson has two monographs, Skaters (2017) and Skater Girls (2020) published by Daylight Books. Jenny Sampson is currently the Board President and Workshop Coordinator at EBPCO.
Jyoti Liggin is a baker, crafter, curator, and photographer. She was born and raised in Oakland and received a BFA in photography from Massachusetts College of Art and Design. She uses film, digital photography, and alternative processes to discuss family, mental health, and identity. Her work has been exhibited at Panopticon Gallery in Boston, MA and in online exhibitions by the Darkside Collective and Too Tired Project. She is currently the gallery manager of OPW.
Najee Tobin is a freelance photographer born and raised in Vallejo, CA. He has received his Bachelor of Arts in Photography from Sacramento State University. His work centers around themes of family, mental health and the expression of it, and the joys and struggles of what it means to be human. He hopes that his work reminds viewers of their own humanity through his own feelings and observations. He is currently exploring these themes through large format film photography and studio work. Najee is currently an exhibition coordinator at OPW.
Vince is a photo mad-scientist, exploring, experimenting, and teaching traditional photographic media, techniques and processes. In 2011 he co-founded, with Michael Shindler, Photobooth SF, the first West Coast tintype studio in over 100 years. Vince also worked in the Gallery at Rayko Photo Center in San Francisco, and was in-house event photographer. His long-term portrait series, Cities of Faith, now extends to four different houses of worship in San Francisco and incorporates nearly a thousand individual portraits. Vince is a co-founder and Co-Executive Director of EBPCO.
